


To The Caves

by that_one_kid



Series: Lack of Adult Supervision (Camp Counselor AU) [6]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen, Hobbits as children, Specifically as terrible chaos children, frodo as a bad influence, sauron's out, the plot begins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 11:37:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20357854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_one_kid/pseuds/that_one_kid
Summary: When the known serial killer Sauron escapes a local penitentiary, The Shire camp has to go into lockdown. It would be a shame if anyone were to wander off, pursuing a quest of their own... Looking at you, Frodo.





	To The Caves

**Author's Note:**

> The plot begins in earnest...
> 
> See end note for trigger warnings.

_ “Have you heard the news?” _

_ “It’s all over the internet,” _

_ “A real-life serial killer!” _

_ “What do you think Gandalf will do about it?” _

“By now, I assume, you will all know why I have gathered you here today,” Gandalf said to the crowd of sleepy campers. A ripple of worry passed through the crowd, and the sleep fell from their young faces. “A criminal by the name of Sauron has escaped from the Dolguldur Penitentiary, and was last seen heading into the Silmaril National Forest.” The gossip had spread quickly, and only a few campers murmured in surprise. The instructors were quiet and grim-faced behind them. “Because our camp, with its separated cabins and lack of a large central building, is not a safe place to lockdown, we are heading into the cave system. Almost all of you have been inside at one point with Gimli, so you should know that there is only one way in and out, and that is through a thick and sturdy door that we can lock from the inside. Just like in our tornado drills, we will now proceed to that location. Food, water, blankets, and clothes are already inside. Grab only what you must. You have ten minutes. I will go ahead to ensure the cave is safe for our arrival.” 

“We’re going through the woods? At night?” Merry piped up from the crowd. 

“Yes. You will all stay close by your assigned counselor, and we will do a headcount at each location so that we ensure that no one is left behind.” Sam shivered, nonetheless. He’d heard wolves in the forest, and they’d seen kills left by wild dogs and mountain lions. But worse was the fear of the serial killer stalking through the forest. They’d all read the articles about him, passed around on illicit cellphones the campers weren’t even meant to have. Now, too scared to look back at the stories, the campers huddled together and rushed back to their cabins. 

“I know that guy,” Frodo said in their cabin, as he shoved his coats and blankets into his pillowcase. “That’s the guy Saruman was talking about. He’s got a picture on his phone.” 

“When did you even meet the Director of ISC?” Sam asked, eying the look that Frodo had and lugging a chunk of brick out from under his bed. He stuck it, and only it, into the pillowcase he pulled off his bed and twisted it shut. Couldn’t hurt to have a weapon in hand when Frodo got that adventuring look in his eyes.

“I’m pretty sure that he’s connected to him on Snapchat.” 

“Seriously?” Pippin stopped shoving pilfered rockets into his pack and looked over the edge of the bed. “Saruman is _ Snapchat friends _with a serial killer?” 

“Wait,” Frodo said, and the adventuring look in his eyes bloomed into full-blown scheming. “Can’t you track people on Snapchat? There’s a map, right?” 

“This is a bad idea,” Sam and Merry said at the same time. 

“I haven’t even said my idea yet,” Frodo protested. They quieted, but reluctantly. “Okay, how’s this. We can’t tell the counselors, because they’ll never believe that Saruman is Snapchat friends with Sauron. And we’d have to explain how Snapchat worked. But, if we steal his phone and bring it back, we can show them right where the bad guy is!” 

“I still think this is a bad idea,” Sam said, but Merry looked thoughtful. 

“It’s not that far to ISC,” Frodo wheedled. “We could walk there and back to the caves in less than an hour. And we’d help catch a criminal.” Pippin’s eyes were huge. 

“What if we run into Sauron in the woods?” Merry asked. 

“Well, there’s four of us and only one of him!” Pippin said, and Frodo nodded along. 

“I’m going,” said Frodo. “Who’s with me?” 

“If you’re going, Mr. Frodo, so am I,” Sam said reluctantly.

“We’re with you!” Pippin cheered, and then glanced back at Merry. “We are, right?” Merry seemed to make up his mind. 

“Let’s go catch a criminal,” he agreed. Quickly stuffing their stashes of food into their packs and throwing on their coats, they crept out past the edge of camp. Sam hesitated, and turned back, but as he did so he saw Boromir enter their cabin.

A second later, a shout echoed through the air and counselors appeared from everywhere. He quickly turned and vanished into the darkness after Frodo and the others. They were in it deep now, and there would be no turning back.

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings: Children in danger, serial killers, children around serial killers, lockdown of a school/camp setting


End file.
